A Photographic Tour of Brixton, London in the 1980s by Peter Marshall

Brixton is a district in the London Borough of Lambeth. It’s one of 35 major centers in Greater London. With a large Afro-Caribbean population, Brixton is primarily residential with a prominent street market. It’s surrounded by Stockwell, Clapham, Streatham, Camberwell, Tulse Hill, Balham, and Herne Hill.

In the 1860s, British rail link to Brixton triggered a massive building boom, launching the first purpose-built department store on Brixton Road. The newly-opened Brixton Market was opened in Atlantic Road in the 1920s to ease traffic congestion. Brixton became a middle-class suburb between the 1860s and 1890s when the Chatham Main Line was built through the London, Chatham, and Dover Railway neighborhood. The 1920s saw Brixton as the shopping capital of south London with three large department stores and the first branches of Britain’s foremost national retailers. Today Brixton Road is the main shopping area, merging into Brixton Market.

Though gentrification has changed the faces and the shops, many buildings remain unchanged. The following photographs by Peter Marshall show us the 1980s London.

Peter Marshall: Flickr

#1 Playground, Stockwell Park, 1980

7 Points

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#2 Fishmongers, Shop, Atlantic Rd, 1987

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#3 Shops, Coldharbour Lane, 1989

6 Points

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#4 Shops, Electric Ave, 1987

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#5 CoolTan Suntan Lotion factory. Effra Road, 1989

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#6 Van, Vining St, 1987

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#7 The Railway Hotel, Electric Avenue, Atlantic Road, 1989

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#8 Mural, Brixton Station, 1989

4 Points

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#9 Eagle Printing Works, Brixton Rd, 1989

4 Points

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#10 Shops, Electric Avenue, 1989

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#11 Sunlight Laundry, 125 Acre Lane, 1989

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#12 Continental Foods, Coldharbour Lane, 1987

3 Points

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#13 MOT Centre, Ferndale Rd, 1989

3 Points

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#14 Electric Lane, 1989

3 Points

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#15 Starting Gate, Cafe, Vining Street, 1989

3 Points

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#16 Brixton Windmill, Blenheim Gardens, 1980

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#17 Coldharbour Lane, 1987

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#18 Vote Rudy Naryan, Shop Window, Brixton Rd, 1989

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#19 Saltoun Rd, Atlantic Road, 1989

2 Points

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#20 Barber Shop, Atlantic Road, 1989

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#21 Door, Atlantic Road, 1991

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#22 Letting Service, Railton Road, 1989

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#23 Brixton Station, Atlantic Rd, 1987

1 Point

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#24 Saltoun Rd, Atlantic Rd, 1987

1 Point

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#25 Cafe, Atlantic Rd, 1987

1 Point

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#26 Sanders, Jeweller, Brixton Rd, 1987

1 Point

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#27 Continental Foods, Coldharbour Lane, 1987

1 Point

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#28 Shops, Coldharbour Lane, 1989

1 Point

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#29 Sculpture, Flats, Barrington Road, 1989

1 Point

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#30 Brixton Academy, Stockwell Rd, 1989

1 Point

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#31 Reliance Arcade, Electric Lane, 1989

1 Point

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#32 House, Bedford Rd area, 1989

1 Point

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#33 Coldharbour Lane, 1989

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#34 Mural, Railton Road, 1989

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#35 Meat is Murder, Butcher, Atlantic Road, 1989

1 Point

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#36 Meat is Murder, Butcher, Atlantic Road, 1989

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#37 Takeaway, Railton Road, 1989

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#38 Playground, Brixton, Lambeth, 1980s

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#39

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#40 Brixton Village, 1987

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#41 Stockwell Rd 1989

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#42 Coldharbour Lane, 1989

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#43 Coldharbour Lane, 1989

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#44

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#45 Lambeth Assembly Hall, Buckner Road, Acre Lane, 1989

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#46 Coldharbour Lane, 1989

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#47 Atlantic Rd, 1989

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#48 A takeaway shop

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#49 Tyres, Railton Road, 1989

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